Should terminally ill people be able to get help to end their lives? The lower house of the British Parliament voted in favor of it in its first reading. The plans are highly controversial and the government is divided.
Great Britain is taking a decisive step towards legalizing euthanasia: in the lower house of parliament, a majority of MPs have spoken out in favor of terminally ill people being able to receive help to end their lives. The plans thus cleared the first hurdle in parliament and will now be negotiated in committees before another vote.
The bill allows euthanasia for adults in England and Wales who have less than six months to live. Two doctors and a judge must agree to this. Assisting suicide is currently considered a criminal offense that can be punished with up to 14 years in prison. The controversial debate about new regulations has dominated the news in the United Kingdom for days. Observers spoke of a historic moment.
British government divided on the issue
The bill was introduced by a member of the government parliamentary group. Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer's cabinet was previously divided on the issue. According to the British news agency PA, Starmer voted in favor. According to a survey by the polling institute YouGov, seven out of ten Britons support legalizing euthanasia.
The new regulation will give dying people “a choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their life” under strict conditions, said initiator Kim Leadbeater, defending her proposal. The MPs were free to decide according to their conscience and were not bound to their faction. Ultimately, the upper house also has to agree.
Warning about “state suicide service”
Opponents, however, criticized, among other things, the fact that legalization could make people feel pressured to end their lives. For some people the debate is moving too quickly. Conservative MP Danny Kruger warned of a “state suicide service”.
“There is a great danger that doctors will be obliged to find a doctor for the patient who will accompany the suicide,” said Eugen Brysch, board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, to the dpa news agency. In Germany, too, there has been a struggle for possible legal regulation of euthanasia for years – but so far without results.
